On April 4, 2013, Addison County’s school community will come together for an evening of inspiration, celebration and networking at the fourth annual Stone Soup Summit. Students, teachers, parents, administrators, farmers, food service managers, nurses and community volunteers will share stories of challenge and triumph and work in diverse groups to address the issues facing farm-to-school programs in our county.

ACORN will host the conference from 3:15 to 7 p.m. at Mt. Abe High School on Thursday, April 4, 2013, with the opening remarks beginning at 3:30.

This year’s conference will honor the student entrepreneurs and farm-to-school advocates in our community at 6 p.m. ACORN is accepting applications from students in the social and business entrepreneur categories until March 22. Many kinds of projects are eligible to win one of the cash prizes—please apply here.

For the first time, ACORN is also seeking nominations for our Farm-to-School Inspiration Award. We want to honor the people who dedicate their time and energy to advancing farm-to-school programs and connecting students to the landscape. We will celebrate all of the nominees at the conference and the winner will receive a plaque. You can find nomination directions here.

After the awards ceremony, the celebrations will continue with a local foods feast invented and prepared by Addison County’s own Jr. Iron Chef teams! The conference, as always, is free, but register now to reserve a plate for dinner.

Our student entrepreneur awards would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors: the National Bank of Middlebury, People’s United Bank, Café Services, the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op and Yankee Farm Credit.

Your support for ACORN helps to build a stronger community and local economy in Addison County, Vermont. Your donations make possible the Tour de Farms, matchmaking events and conferences, our Farm to School outreach, the Guide to Local Food and Farms and more.